Just For One Night
by MzShellSan
Summary: AU where Mai doesn't meet Naru until a friend of Yasu's needs a date to an event for BSPR. Of course she's the date (whether she wants to be or not). (Spoiler: By the end - she wants to be). This is for day 15 of my FicMas event, dedicated to xeramplinae over on ao3.


**25 Days of FicMas**

**Day:** Fifteen

**Dedication: **Xeramelipnae

**Fandom: **Ghost Hunt

**Pairing: **Mai/Naru

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ghost Hunt

**For Just One Night**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Mai sighed as she trudged through the halls of Todai, her feet falling heavily against the ground as she made her way towards the exit of her building. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was go and pass out in bed to sleep for as long as possible. She'd just finished up her last exam and for one amazing minute she'd been elated to have been done.

Then the exhaustion had hit and her excitement had faded completely to the background.

"That's not how you're supposed to look when you've finally finished up exams for the year," a voice teased.

Swinging around, Mai smiled tiredly at Yasu's smirking face. "This is exactly how I'm supposed to look when I'm running on eight hours sleep for the last three days, Yasu," she grumbled.

Yasu tsk'ed, fingers pushing his glasses up. "I thought I told you to make sure you got as much sleep as possible and to start studying earlier this time," he scolded, though Mai could see his we joking.

Sticking her tongue out at him for a moment, she huffed. "I did start studying earlier this time, I just couldn't manage to sleep much. It's fine, I'll sleep it off and recover soon, just in time to take advantage of the holiday season."

"Speaking of-"

"Whatever it is, no." Mai kept her voice firm, not wanting to give her friend any leeway.

Pouting, Yasu moved to swing an arm over Mai's shoulder. "Come on, Mai. Surely you can at least hear me out first? After all, I did help you study? Surely you can offer me _that_ much as least."

Sighing, Mai shot him a glare out of the corner of her eye. "I'll hear you out – but that's it!"

She was already regretting it given the mischievous look she could see in the back of his eyes. "Okay, so a friend of mine really needs a date for an event he's going to-"

"Yasu!"

"Mai, you said you would listen," Yasu scolded lightly.

Huffing, Mai nodded and shut up for a moment.

"Good. As I was saying, a friend of mine is going to an event and he needs a date. It's some fancy party that's being sponsored by BSPR – the place I had placement with briefly in England?"

Mai nodded, recognising the name and she had to admit that she was somewhat curious.

"And who's your friend?"

"Well, it's actually my friend's brother that needs a date. He's expected to have someone come with him but he's not very social. So I told him I'd ask my best friend who's very kind and loves me very much if she would be willing to go with him for the night," Yasu explained, grinning at her.

Frowning at him, Mai huffed. "Let me guess, he's under the impression that I've already agreed to this bogus charade?" she groaned.

Yasu batted his eye lashes and adopted an innocent look. "I would never tell them that without your yes," he denied, "but I _did_ strongly imply that you wouldn't be against it."

Rubbing her temples, Mai glared at her friend. "Fine, when is this party?"

"Tomorrow night."

Mai stopped in the middle of the path, eye's wide. "Yasu! That's not nearly enough time for me to get something to wear. If this is fancy then I'm going to have to be dressed up!" she screeched; uncaring of the odd looks she was getting.

Shaking his head, Yasu waggled a finger. "Don't be ridiculous Mai. What kind of planner would I be if I didn't already have that taken care of? Ayako will be at your place at three tomorrow afternoon with a dress she picked out for you and to get you ready for the night. You'll be picked up at six o'clock by my friend, his date and his brother to go to the event and they'll drop you home afterwards," he informed her.

"Wha-"

"Now that you've agreed, i'll just let them know. Make sure you don't forget!" Yasu called out, suddenly bolting off in the direction that they'd been walking from, waving over his shoulder at a fuming Mai who'd been left behind.

"Yasu!"

Then next day found Mai waiting by the curb for her ride in a light blue gown. The under layerof the dress was a comfortable silk material and the top section of the dress was off the shoulder with lace flower detailing that trailed slightly into the chiffon mesh material that made up the skirt. It was flowing lightly in the breeze as she glanced down at her phone for what felt like the hundredth time at her phone.

Yasu had assured her that they were going to be there soon since he was her only contact with him. The brother she was going to be on the arm of all night was Oliver apparently, and his brother was Gene.

She'd seen a photo and she had admitted in the safety of her own mind that if she was going to be suckered into going out only a day after her exams had finished then she was at least happy that they were good looking.

Just as she was about to text Yasu again to ask yet again if he was certain they were on their way, a limo turned the corner before pulling up on the street.

Blinking blankly at it, she debated for a moment over whether or not it was her ride until the door swung open to reveal one of the twins from the picture she'd been shown. She could tell right away that this was Gene based on the grin on his face and the similar mischief that shone in his eyes.

"Taniyama-san, I presume?" Gene asked, bowing extravangantly and reaching for her hand to place a kiss on the back. "Yasuhara didn't tell me you would be this beautiful when he suggested you or I might have stolen you as my own date."

No wonder he was a friend of Yasu's.

Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, she couldn't help but smile at his small pout.

"That would be me, yes. And you must be Gene – Yasu's friend. Nice to meet you," she greeted.

Letting go over her hand, Gene stepped aside to let her into the limo. "You as well. Come on in and I'll introduce you to my date for the night as well as _your_ date for the night. I'll warn you – he's in a bit of a mood since he _really_ didn't want to go tonight."

Mai sighed. Great.

"You realise I can hear you, correct?"

The sudden additional voice was cold and Mai could already feel her resolve to make it through tonight crumbling.

What had she gotten herself into now?

Gene smiled apologetically at her as he helped her inside the limo.

Glancing around curiously, Mai ignored Gene's look alike to take in how spacious the back of this vehicle was. She'd never been in anything this fancy and she felt very out of place.

Looking back over at Gene as he settled into his seat once more, she smiled slightly.

"Introductions?"

"Of course," he agreed. Motioning towards a pretty woman sitting next to him, Gene grinned. "This is the medium Hara Masako. You might have seen her show?"

Mai shook her head, flushing a little. "I'm afraid not. I don't have the time for television." Or the money, she added mentally.

The petite woman bowed her head before lifting her elegant kimono sleeve. "Lovely to meet you. Taniyama-san was it?"

Mai smiled. "Yes. Lovely to meet you as well, Hara-san."

Motioning to his left when Oliver was sitting in the corner – as far away from everyone as he could, Mai noted – Gene grinned. "And this handsome man is my brother, Oliver; your date for the night."

Offering a hesitant smile, Mai bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you."

His cold eyes met hers for a moment before he sighed loudly and offered a small bow back. "And you," he muttered.

Trying not to let his attitude get the better of herself, Mai turned her attention back to Gene for the rest of the ride, engaging him in conversation about random things as they went along until they reached the event location.

Stepping out of the car, Gene offered a hand to Masako to help her out before giving Oliver a pointed look.

Clearly he didn't care, however, because he simply stepped out and waited, offering Mai zero assistance. Not bothered, Mai thanked the heavens that Ayako had gotten her a pair of nice looking sandals instead of heels so she got out without tripping and making a fool of herself.

Stepping up next to Oliver, she smiled awkwardly. "Shall we."

Oliver sighed, looking down the carpet they were going to walk down with distaste before nodded to her. "I don't suppose we really have a choice," he admitted.

Huffing at his attitude, Mai gritted her teeth. She didn't really want to be here either but was there really any need to say it every few moments?

Without another word, Oliver started walking into the building leaving Mai to stumble over her long dress to catch up, the fabric moving gently around her legs as she speed-walked to keep up.

"That was rude," she grumbled under her breath, shooting an irritated look at him out of the corner of her eye.

If he heard her speak then it didn't show as the finally stepped into the large room. Everything was decorated in silver and sparkling – Mai could already see herself accidentally breaking one of the fancy decorations that were dotted around the room.

"Noll!"

Oliver paused and Mai managed to catch an irritated look on his features before he schooled them into something blank and turned to look at the woman who was calling his name.

"Yes Madoka?"

Pouting, the older looking woman shook her head. "What's with that face? Honestly, how are you meant to show this lovely lady a good night if you're going to glare at everything all night?" she scolded, ignoring the glare that was now being directed at her.

"For the last time, Madoka, I couldn't care less about tonight. I don't want to be here – this is a waste of my valuable time."

'Madoka' sighed before turning to Mai and smiling brightly. "Hello dear! I'm so sorry about him. I'm Madoka, also a friend of Yasu's from when he was working with BSPR," she greeted, bowing a little. "It's wonderful to meet you."

"You as well," Mai repsonded, bowing back on automatic. "I'm Mai."

Squealing, the other woman reached out to grab her arms and drag her into a quick hug. "You're so adorable!"

Flushing a little, Mai felt a little dazed and didn't now how to respond to that comment.

Luckily, she didn't need to. Behind her was a scary looking older man who didn't look interested in being here in the slightest. "Madoka."

That was all it took for the other woman to let go of her, stepping back. "Sorry, sorry. I'll leave you two to it then. Make sure you introduce her to a few people, Noll. Your mother and father are running a little behind schedule but they should be here soon and they'll want to meet her as well."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Rolling her eyes, Madoka smiled at Mai apologetically once more. "Try to have a good night, regardless of his sour attitude."

Mai smiled slightly. "Of course."

Waving good bye, Madoka disappeared, leaving Mai with an even more irritated Oliver.

"Shall we get something to eat. While we're here you might as well enjoy the free food and drink," he said finally, already making his way over to one of the tables that sat on the perimeter of the room.

Catching up quickly, Mai had to admit that she as feeling a little peckish so she didn't bother to argue, instead grabbing a couple of the food items as soon as they were in reach and popping one into her mouth.

It was silent between them as they stayed their, Oliver leaning against a wall nearby and just watching the room with intelligent seeming eyes.

It was a little awkward but Mai tried to ignore it, instead frowning at how much nicer Oliver looked when he wasn't glaring at everything.

"Is there something you need?"

Mai jumped at the sudden question. "Huh?"

Oliver turned to look at her, his eyes staring intently at her until she let her gaze drop; cheeks flushing.

"You were staring. Is there something you need or am I just that good looking?"

It took a minute before Mai managed to process just what he was saying. "I- has anyone ever told you that you're a bit of a narcissist?" she asked finally; her eyebrow twitching slightly.

Her patience was slowly beginning to wear thin and Oliver didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"Of course. I fail to see why this is relevant."

Mai blinked at him before shaking her head, already giving up. "Whatever. Don't worry about it," she huffed.

Oliver narrowed his eyes but didn't bother to say anything else, silence falling between them again.

Flashing back to her earlier discussion with Ayako, Mai frowned. Her friend has told her that she needed to make sure she let herself relax for once – take a break. Somehow she didn't think this was how her friend had imagined her night to go.

_'You're at a fancy party with a very hot guy, Mai. At least take advantage of it,'_ she grumbled to herself mentally.

"So, what do you do?"

Oliver's eyes glanced over at her before moving back to watch the people mingling towards the middle of the room. For a minute, Mai didn't think he was going to respond and she had just about given up when Oliver opened his mouth.

"I'm a ghost hunter."

If she had been anyone else, Mai was almost positive that they would have laughed. In this instance, however, she had already been aware of what Yasu had been abroad for the months he was away so instead she rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. You worked with Yasu which means you were working for or with BSPR. I mean, what do you do with BSPR. Are you a psychic or a medium?" she let her question trail off, letting him fill in the blanks.

For the first time tonight, it seemed she had managed to grab Oliver's attention.

"I have PK," he stated finally. His eyes seemed to be watching for her response but all she did was smile.

"Awesome. Do you use it often? What kinds of things can you do with it?"

Oliver frowned at her, something almost questioning in his eyes before it was hidden away.

"I can move items and it's quite powerful but I try not to sure it. I need to bounce my ability with Gene in order to use it safely. I'm unsure of how much you know on the subject, however, and I don't want to waste my time explaining a concept you won't understand."

Huffing, Mai's enthusiasm dissipated just like that. "I'm not the most knowledgeable on the subject – that's true, but you didn't need to put it like that. I was willing to listen to you explain it. But clearly you would rather spend the night in silence," she informed him.

Her eyebrow was twitching and she could hear the irritation in the tightened way she was talking to avoid shouting. She was in public – she needed to control herself at least somewhat.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Obvoiusly I would rather spend the night in silence. If you can recall a simple detail, I was quite clear that I didn't want to be here."

Throwing her hand up, Mai glared. "I didn't want to here either, but Yasu called in a favour and now I'm stuck here so the least you could do is have a semi-decent conversation with me for a few minutes on the subject you _clearly_ enjoy," she hissed.

Something shifted in Oliver's eyes but just as he was opening his mouth to respond, Mai heard his nickname being called once more.

Good. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what rude thing he was going to say next.

"Noll."

Turning towards the lady who was calling his name, Oliver frowned. "What is it Mother?"

The blonde woman shook her head making a noise of disbelief at him. "What do you mean 'what is it'? Aren't you going to introduce me to this wonderful date you have here?" she asked.

An older male trailed behind her, the sweat on his forhead an indicater that he'd probably moved faster than he should through the room to keep up with Oliver's mother.

"Father."

In that one word, Oliver seemed to protray everything he needed to his father who shot him an exasperated look.

"Why don't we let his date introduce herself, dear?"

Luella sighed, smiling over at her. "Of course. Noll would probably be rude about it anyway," she agreed finally before gasping. "Oh my, where are my manners? You're a bad influence on me Oliver. I'm Luella – Oliver's mother and this is my husband Martin. It's wonderful to meet you."

Mai smiled hesitantly, offering a small bow. "It's lovely to meet you as well. I'm a friend of Yasu's – my name is Taniyama Mai."

The squeal that Luella let out was very similar to the other woman's from earlier – Madoka was it? Luckily, Luella didn't move to grab her as well but that might be due to the hand she had currently in her husbands hand.

"Noll have you even told this wonderful lady just how good she looks tonight? Of course you haven't – you're simply not the type. But you do look wonderful dear – a princess if I've ever seen one."

Blushing red, Mai could feel the warmth on her cheeks. "Thank you. Your dress is very pretty as well," she complimented, smiling a little brighter when Luella beamed, letting go of Martin's hand to twirl.

"Isn't it? Oh when I saw it in the shop I _had_ to buy it."

Mai nodded along to her gushing, somewhat dazed at the personality jump from Oliver to Luella and confused as to how anyone could be so cold with a mother so warm.

Next to Luella Martin was smiling indulgently; so clearly in love with his wife that Mai couldn't help the way her heart squeezed.

Just like that, she could picture her own mother and father standing there, just as in love and together and she found her throat closing up a little.

_'Do _not_ cry, Taniyama Mai. You're here for a good night,'_ she scolded herself, gratified when her eyes didn't start to water just yet.

"Are you alright dear?" Luella asked, finally managing to catch her attention again.

Swallowing, she smiled as best as she could. "I'm fine. I just think I might need a little air for the a moment. If you'll excuse me?" she asked.

Luella had barely nodded in agreement before she was moving swiftly across the room towards a set of doors she'd seen earlier – praying that they lead to somewhere quieter where she could breathe for a moment.

For once luck seemed to be on her side because as she stepped out of the room she found herself stepping into a traditional Japanese garden.

Her mother's smiling face flashed in her face again and this time when she felt something warm drip down her face; she let it.

She was so caught up in the memories that were suddenly accosting her that she didn't hear someone approach her from behind.

"Are you alright?"

Jumping at the question, Mai turned around on automatic – half of a smile already forming.

"Of course-"

"Stop that."

Starling, Mai let the smile fall, her eyebrows knitting together. "Huh?"

"You're slow aren't you?" Oliver asked, a smirk tugging at his lips that made anger flare in her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"That's the second time you've been clueless tonight. You're slow."

"And you're rude," Mai grumbled, turning away from him and preparing to move away from him. She'd had enough interaction with him for the rest of her life.

"Stop smiling and saying you're fine when it's clear that you're not."

Swinging back around, Mai glared. "I'm _am_ fine."

"You're still crying," he scoffed.

Bringing hands up to her cheeks, Mai wiped away the tears on her face quickly and frowned when she found them to be half dry already. It dawned on her a moment later what had happened and she glared at the smug look Oliver was giving her.

"See? Slow."

"If you just came out here to insult me then I would rather you leave. I'll be fine on my own," Mai hissed.

This time she didn't wait to hear him respond, walking further into the garden until she found a bench near a koi pond.

Watching as they swam around, she didn't say a word as she felt Oliver come and sit next to her a minute later.

As much as he annoyed her, the added presence wasn't something she could really object to further without causing a scene. And she'd definitely had enough of scene's for the night.

"Can I ask what's wrong?"

The question startled Mai and for a moment she wasn't sure how to react. Looking over at him, she swallowed when she realised that he was being sincere. For all the rudeness he portrayed, he was trying.

Before she knew it, Mai found her mouth opening; eyes returning to the koi in the pond.

"My mother passed away around five years ago now. She was all I had left since my father died when I was little. Normally I'm fine but something about your mother reminded me of how my own used to be and I couldn't help but miss her. I'm sorry if I caused you any problems."

The scoff she got in response had her anger rising once more but before she could say anything Oliver spoke.

"Don't apologise for something like that. Are you stupid?"

"But-"

"I told you already – I didn't want to be here. Getting me out of there was probably the best thing you've done all night. This even has the benefit of me being sent by my mother so I won't be scolded for ignoring my duties," Oliver informed her.

For just a moment, Mai could almost see a similar mischievous sparkle to his brother's in his eyes but it was gone before she could be sure.

"Glad to be of help then," she muttered dryly, rolling her eyes at his smirk.

"You should be."

The response wasn't a surprise and yet she couldn't help but roll her eyes and scoff. "Narcissist."

He didn't bother to respond and it was silent between them, the sound of a waterfall in the background allowing Mai to relax before she recalled the party that they were meant to be attending.

"I suppose we should head back inside, shouldn't we?"

"Are you going to be okay?"

Mai smiled, confident that this one was slightly more believable then her previous attempt. "Of course."

It didn't seem like Oliver believed her at all but Mai didn't give him a chance to argue, standing up quickly and dusting of her dress, relieved to find that she hadn't ruined it.

On automatic, she offered a hand to Oliver to help him get up as well. She was about to pull her hand back – recalling the way that he'd avoiding contact until now with everyone when she felt warmth surround her hand.

It was only for a moment but she couldn't help the way her cheeks burned red at the way it left her hand tingling even as Oliver moved ahead of her.

"Are you coming?"

The smug smirk on his face made her bristle and she moved quickly to catch up, her feet stumbling slightly in her angered rush.

Catching her, Oliver rolled his eyes. "I suppose I should be shocked that this was the first time you've almost falled tonight. Yasuhara-san warned me that you were accident prone and I was beginning to wonder if that was really the case."

"Why you-"

Oliver smirked at her anger; amused.

"Hurry up, we're probably being missed by now. Try not to trip this time."

"Kami-sama, you're such a narcissist," Mai cursed, rushing after him with slightly more care this time.

Despite her words, she couldn't help but smile brightly. Tonight hadn't started the way she'd expected but things were definitely looking up from where they had started.

Oliver was much nicer than she'd originally found and her heart was aching for a completely different reason as she watched his profile enter the larger ball-like room they'd been in earlier; unable to help her admiration.

Even though she was tempted to ask for his number – perhaps get to know him better in the future, Mai reminded herself that this was just for tonight. Tomorrow or the day after, Oliver and his family would return to England and BSPR where they worked and soon enough this would feel like a dream.

"Well Mai, if tonight is going to become a dream, you might as well make the most of it," she whispered to herself.

With that thought in mind, she stepped in the room once more with her head held high and a smile plastered on her face.

It might just be for just one night – but it would be the best night possible.

And if the way Oliver was staring at her made butterflies flutter in her stomach, well – that was just for one night too.


End file.
